The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

The Practical Built In Funiture

Surface hinges are of course the easiest to apply; all you have to do is screw them to the outside of the door and the cabinet frame. The only thing that needs watching is the hinge pin; it must be exactly over the crack between the door and frame and in line with it. Installing a butt hinge is a little more complicated but calls for more care than skill. You can use butts with thick plywood, but the screw holes should be drilled first, and fairly long screws should be used. (See Fig. 42.)

Door and drawer handles of a somewhat modern type can be made from triangular-shaped blocks of wood. They are attached by inserting a screw from the inside of the drawer front or cupboard door. Or you can buy attractive metal or wood handles that are easy to install.

After completing the counter, the whole thing should be gone over with 4 0 garnet paper to remove rough edges and surface spots. If the counter is to be covered with linoleum or plastic, this operation is best saved till last.

From what has been said above, it should be clear that, if studied in detail section by section, none of these pieces is really difficult to understand or complicated to make. The same method of analysis can be applied to the larger and more advanced projects presented with less detail in the next chapter.


Room-By-Room Built-Ins to Make


Series 1 KITCHEN

Combination Kitchen Cabinet

USUALLY, no room has greater need for built-in pieces than does the kitchen. Here you can progress from simple racks and shelves to cabinets with cupboards and drawers.

One of the commoner combinations of counter, cupboards and drawers is shown in Fig. 43. The number of units and their dimensions can be juggled to suit your own requirements.

The counter is made first, as described on page 56. In this instance, however, the right-hand end of the piece is carried up to the ceiling so that it forms one partition of the adjoining refrigerator recess and overhead storage cupboard.

As in all kitchens, the counter top should overhang the base by a couple of inches. Then, if anything is spilled it won't run down the front of the cabinet and get into the drawers or cupboards.

The standard counter height is 36 inches, but it is best to regulate this to suit the person who is to use it most.

The center section below the cabinet drawers is a bin, shown in detail in Fig. 44. This is hinged at the bottom, and the sides need to be shaped to clear the opening as it is swung outward. You can check that distance with a string and pencil from the center of the hinge, as shown. By attaching a chain to the back of the bin, you can keep it from tipping too far forward when opened. Note that the bin is stiffened in the corners with quarter-round fillets. The quarter-round eliminates dust-collecting angles.